John's Secret
by Reader128
Summary: John wasn't just another doctor who happened to be a military officer. No, he was so much more than Sherlock ever figured out. He didn't know, but John had a secret, one that not even Mycroft had figured out. Now, his carefully kept secret was going to come out all because some murderer had decided to play a game with Sherlock. Cross-posted to AO3.


**Disclaimer: I don't own the Kingsmen or Sherlock even if (technically) all the names are now public domain since the copyright expired on ACD's stories and Arthurian legends are old enough to be considered public domain as well.**

Less than an hour ago, John had been kidnapped, taken right off the street not far from the flat. They got the jump on him, that's the only reason they were able to take him. Now, he was standing in front of his flatmate, repeating the words that were coming through the ear piece and biding his time. Soon, Jim came up and gave his speech (complete with grand gestures of course), and John saw his chance. He came up behind Moriarty and used his own yelling to conceal the sound of his heels clicking. While telling Sherlock to run, he slowly lifted his foot a few inches off the ground, making sure that he was above the criminal's shoe and using subtle motions with his arms to distract the madman.

Then, he scratched the man's leg with the small blade that he had hidden in his shoe and looked up into the rafters, "I just killed your boss. If you leave now, I'll show mercy."

Moriarty started to laugh before he turned pale green. It was only John's arms around him that kept him upright as he died. Sherlock looked shocked as his villain collapsed, he hadn't foreseen this. Slowly, all of the red dots disappeared until only one was left. John kept glaring in the direction it came from until it too disappeared. Afterwards, he sighed and dropped Moriarty's body.

"Do you have your phone? I need to call someone to take care of this," John stated.

"You're a Kingsmen," Sherlock said when he handed John the phone. "There's always something... how were you able to go on missions without me noticing?"

"First, I was a Kingsmen... I'm retired. Second, I once left the flat for three days to visit Harry, and when I came back, you started talking to me like I hadn't been gone at all. You see very little for someone who notices so much," John told him before dialing a number he had hoped to never have to use. "Merlin, this is Gawain. I need you to come to my current location... I had to use my blade... Yes, I realize that it is not proper protocol... I know that... He was a murderer... James Moriarty... Also, several snipers just left this building. They were going to shoot me and blow up the building in the process... a bomb strapped to my chest... at least one civilian casualty... Don't tell Galahad. You know how he gets... Arthur is a bastard... Send Dagonet and Bors, they are the best at this type of hunt... I know, Merlin... I'll see you in fifteen minutes."

John handed the phone back to his flatmate, and Sherlock took it without looking away from him, "How were you recruited? I assume it happened while you were in the military. Where else would you encounter one of the Kingsmen? Does Mycroft know?"

"I was in the army when they recruited me, and no, I am not going to tell you where. If he knew, I'm sure he would've mentioned it by now," John told him, distracted by the bomb vest he now held in his hands. "He might be half the British government, but the Kingsmen don't work for the government. He probably knows some of the members, but it's unlikely he knows all of us. Merlin is very good at keeping our identities secret despite Arthur's brown-nosing."

Sherlock watched as John disarmed the bomb and carefully placed it aside. Soon, a tall bald man in a sweater appeared and hugged John.

"Gawain," the man stated in a Scottish accent, "it's good to see you."

"Merlin, thank you for coming. This is Sherlock Holmes, and that is James Moriarty."

"Yes, we've been trying to get close to him for some time. Bors and Dagonet will have his men rounded up in no time. Lamorak, Morien, and Aban have been undercover in his organization for some time now. They'll unravel everything soon enough. Moriarty wasn't as clever as he thought."

"You'll keep me updated?" John asked.

"Aye, don't worry. For now though, we have to get the both you out of here without the elder Mr. Holmes finding out your status," Merlin smirked. "He's been trying to find out more about our organization for years without success. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Mycroft is undoubtedly on his way here," Sherlock told him. "He'll know we're here."

"But he doesn't know I'm here," Merlin replied. "John, how well built is that bomb?"

John immediately caught on, "It should work. We'll have to be sure it's believable."

"Let me take care of that. Just help me get everything in position. I've got Nimue and Igraine on camera duty."

"They are the best," John said. "Tell us what you need us to do."

It took Merlin less than ten minutes to fix everything how he wanted it. John and Sherlock took the time to get their stories straight for when Mycroft questioned them. Soon, they were ready. Merlin left. John grabbed Moriarty's gun and used it to shoot the vest before the two of them jumped into the pool. Mycroft made it to the building just as the ceiling collapsed under the force of the blast. His men were able to pull Sherlock and John out of the water, both unconscious and injured.

Merlin watched from the surrounded CCTV cameras as the two were wheeled out to waiting ambulances and made sure they were taken care of before he left. He had a lot of work ahead of him making sure none of Mycroft's men figured out what actually happened. Smirking, he double checked that the poison John used wasn't in any of the databases Mycroft had access to. The man was insufferable, and any day he got to get one over on him was a good one.

A few hours later, John woke up in the hospital with his wounds bandaged and a bouquet of delphinium, calla lily, gladiolus, mock orange, and crocus flowers. He looked at them and grinned as Lestrade walked into the room.

 **A.N.: I know some people study the language of flowers... I am not one of them. As far as Google can tell me, the bouquet I put together is as follows: delphinium (King Author group), calla lily (nobility), gladiolus (sword, strength and determination), mock orange (deceit), and crocus (cheerfulness). If I don't have these right, please tell me.**

 **Have a great day!**


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